More than 400 billion cups of coffee are consumed every year, making it one of the world’s most popular drinks today. In fact, the love of coffee goes back centuries.
Coffee is rich in antioxidants and caffeine as well as riboflavin (vitamin B2), pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), manganese, potassium, magnesium and niacin.
Drinking coffee has both advantages and disadvantages, which are proven scientifically. One of the most important benefits that has always been in the limelight is that coffee lends to a longer life.
Along with extending your life, there are many more benefits linked to coffee consumption. However, to enjoy these benefits, you must stick to black coffee and not more than four to five cups a day.
Here are some ways in which coffe helps you live longer and benefits your health.
1. Coffee and Longer Life
Coffee protects your body due to its potent antioxidant properties. Antioxidants work as warriors fighting and protecting against free radicals within your body. These free radicals can weaken your immunity and make you more prone to illness.
As java drinkers are less likely to suffer from many diseases, it makes sense that this beverage adds years to their lives .
A 2008 study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine reports that decaffeinated coffee intake was associated with a small reduction in all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality.
Furthermore, a large 2012 prospective study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that coffee consumption was inversely associated with total and cause-specific mortality. This is even true in people having poor lifestyle habits, such as eating red meat and skipping exercise.
In a recent 2015 study published in Circulation, researchers found that regular coffee drinkers (people who drank less than five cups of coffee in a day) have a lower risk of dying early from a number of different causes, including cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes, neurological diseases and suicide. This study was conducted by the American Heart Association.
2. Protects Against Cancer
The antioxidants in coffee are the reason why coffee is associated with reduced risk of several types of cancer.
Coffee contains biologically active compounds, such as caffeine and phenolic acids, showing potent antioxidant activity that affect glucose metabolism and sex hormone levels. This plays a key role in preventing prostate cancer.
A 2011 study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found a strong inverse association between coffee consumption and risk of lethal prostate cancer. The association appears to be related to non-caffeine components of coffee.
A 2012 study published in the American Journal of Nutrition shows that coffee intake is inversely associated with colon cancer, particularly proximal tumors.
Coffee is also beneficial at preventing skin cancers due to its caffeine content. A 2014 study published in the European Journal of Cancer Prevention shows that caffeine from coffee leads to a 43 percent reduced risk of basal cell carcinoma in coffee drinkers as compared with non-consumers of coffee.
In a recent 2016 issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, which is published by the American Association of Cancer Research, it was found that even moderate coffee intake leads to a 26 percent reduction in the odds of developing colorectal cancer after adjusting for known risk factors.
3. Keeps Your Liver Healthy
Limited coffee consumption is linked to better liver health. For liver health, filtered coffee is more hepatoprotective, meaning it prevents certain harmful substances like kahweol and cafestol from reaching your body.
A 2013 study published in Hepatology suggests that increased caffeine intake may reduce fatty liver in people with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Caffeine stimulates the metabolization of lipids stored in liver cells and decreased the fatty liver of mice that were fed a high-fat diet.
It even reduces therisk of primary sclerosing cholangitis, a rare autoimmune disease of the bile ducts in the liver.
When suffering from fatty liver disease, do not drink unfiltered coffee as it can worsen the symptoms.
A 2001 study published in the Annals of Epidemiology reports that coffee, but not other beverages containing caffeine, may inhibit the onset of alcoholic and nonalcoholic liver cirrhosis. Another study published in the same journal the next year confirms the inverse association between coffee consumption and liver cirrhosis.
Later, a 2006 study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine reports that coffee drinking was related to lower prevalence of high aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase levels. This in turn protects against cirrhosis, especially alcoholic cirrhosis.
Not just liver cirrhosis, coffee consumption is even linked to a lower risk of liver cancer. A 2005 study published in the International Journal of Cancer found that higher coffee consumption was significantly associated with a lower risk of liver cancer.
Similarly, a meta-analysis published in Gastroenterology in 2007 also suggests that an increased consumption of coffee may reduce the risk of liver cancer.
4. Prevents Gallstones
Gallstones are a very painful problem that can be prevented with regular coffee consumption. The antioxidant and metabolic effects of coffee are the reasons behind it.
A 1999 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association reports that metabolic effects of coffee could reduce the risk of symptomatic gallstone disease in men.
Not just men, coffee is also beneficial for women. A 2002 study published in Gastroenterology proves that consumption of caffeinated coffee is associated with a lower risk of symptomatic gallstone disease in women.
Another 2003 study published in the European Journal of Epidemiology shows that coffee and caffeine intake were each associated with a statistically significant increase in the prevalence of known gallstone disease, but unrelated to newly diagnosed gallstones.
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